Combination pegylated interferon with ribavirin is effective therapy in hepatitis C Virus recurrence and in hepatitis C virus nonresponsive to interferon and ribavirin, reports the most recent issue of Transplantation.

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The management issues of transplant patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are complex, and interferon therapy is often ineffective.

Dr Slapak-Green and colleagues from Miami, America undertook a retrospective review of liver-transplant recipients suffering from HCV recurrence that were treated with pegylated alpha-2b interferon and ribavirin.

The researchers then recorded complications, including neutropenia (<750 cells), anemia (hemoglobin <8 g) with and without treatment consisting of blood transfusions, erythropoietin, or dose reduction of ribavirin, and depression.

The research team determined a diagnosis of hepatitis C virus recurrence by an increase in liver chemistries, histopathologic findings with inflammation along with viral recurrence using the COBAS AMPLICOR HCV test.

28% of patients who were naïve to therapy and 21% of nonresponders were HCV nondetectable at the end of 48 weeks of therapy

Transplantation

The researchers included a total of 57 liver-transplant recipients in the study.

The participants were separated into Group 1 , 29 participants naive to therapy and Group 2, 28 nonresponders.

The research team administered at least 6 months of interferon and ribavirin therapy.

The researchers observed that 8 (28) patients in group 1 and six (21%) patients in group 2 were HCV nondetectable at the end of 48 weeks of therapy.

In addition, the research team noted that ribavirin therapy was decreased in 13 of 29 (45%) for group 1 and 11 of 28 (39%) in group 2.